How to optimize the buyer journey with competitor research insights

In today’s information-era, customers are more savvy than ever. And while technological advancements, from apps to e-Commerce, were created for convenience and efficiency, somehow, the buyer journey can still get convoluted and cumbersome.

Elementum wants to help you eliminate the clutter and confusion for your customers, reducing the steps to cart, so they can purchase easier, faster and often.

That’s what the buyer journey is, afterall: the path to purchase.

(Click here to jump down to the TL;DR)

Stages of the Buyer Journey

Below are explanations of what customers experience during each stage, and examples of questions business owners should ask themselves and actions they can take.

Awareness Stage
In this stage, the customer has become aware of a problem, challenge, or circumstance that they’d like to change. During this time, they are gathering information on the issue and assessing what can be done about it. 

Question:
How important is the issue to the customer?

Action:
Provide information, education, and demonstrations on the subject when possible. Share different pathways to a solution.

Consideration Stage
Now, the user has clarity around their issue, has defined their need, and is determined to resolve it.

Question:
What steps do users take to research possible solutions?

Action:
Give options to solving their issue, including examples (with case studies, customer reviews, or product demonstrations) of how your product could solve their issue, as it has for others.

Decision Stage
By this stage, customers are deep-diving into comparison shopping, and tallying up their list of pros and cons based on their requirements and values.

Questions:
How does your business compare to competitors?

Action:
Be able to present a polished unique selling proposition that will knock their socks off. 

How competitor research informs the buyer’s journey

Conducting competitor research provides a deeper understanding of your target audience and defines your buyer personas.. 

Having that understanding will guide you to tailor your buyer experience and map out your site.

You want buyers to feel like they’re in the right place because your brand, messaging, and site theme shows you “get” them. That feeling is the early cultivation of community and connectedness, and promotes customer loyalty.

Optimizing the buyer’s Journey to Increase Site Conversion

People don’t shop sites hoping for a confusing, frustrating, and unnecessarily long process. They appreciate sites that have well thought-out designs from the buyer’s point of view and uncluttered layouts with intuitive navigation.

Think of it this way: Optimizing your site will naturally optimize your buyer’s journey.  

Cutting down the steps to cart is key to increasing site conversion.

Here are a few reminders that are simple, but effective when optimizing the buyer’s journey:

• Make your offer compelling and accessible from every touchpoint the customer might discover you: website, social media, or otherwise

• Keep content simple, not clever. Again, do not confuse buyers or make them have to think. They don’t want to solve a riddle, they want to make a purchase and get on with their day.

• Display clear, clean and visible buttons and call-to-action text, so they’re just a click away from that cart.

• Provide comfort and security by showing trust seals. People want to know they’re shopping on a legit site, and won’t be swindled.

• Place return and refund policies in plain sight. Don’t make them have to search for it, interrupting their check out, and risking cart abandonment.

• Consider they might have questions not clearly or already addressed. How can they contact you – phone, email, social media, or chat bot? 

The Elementum Example:
We used our collective eComm experience to inform many of our strategies when designing the homepage, collections page, quick view, and cart page. One of the goals we kept at the forefront of the design process was limiting the steps to cart and helping merchants tell product stories without overusing text blocks.]

TL;DR 

Help customers get through their buyer journey with clarity and ease. 

Using best practices, like competitor research and site optimization, helps to reduce the steps to cart, improve the user experience, and enhance the overall customer journey.

In the blog:

• Simplifying the buyer journey gets users through the path to purchase faster and more efficiently, preventing cart abandonment.

• The three stages of the buyer journey every customer goes through are awareness, consideration, and decision.

• Understanding your target audience’s pain points discovered in competitor research can inform how you design your buyer’s journey.

• Optimizing the buyer journey, making their experience seamless with a few quick tips will not only make them likely to buy, but encourage them to return.